3D printing mechanical hold build plate

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure provides a build plate for physically adhering or holding a three-dimensional (3D) object to a build surface and methods for mechanically anchoring the 3D object to the build surface using printing or building materials. In one embodiment, a build plate comprises a plurality of anchor holes spaced throughout a top surface of the first build plate, in which an individual anchor hole comprises a top hole portion and a bottom chamfer hole portion that is larger in size than the top portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional applicationentitled, “3D Printing Mechanical Hold Build Plate,” having Ser. No.62/201,249, filed Aug. 5, 2015, which is entirely incorporated herein byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is generally related to three-dimensional objectprinting.

BACKGROUND

Generally, three-dimensional (3D) object printing involves laying downsuccessive filament layers on a build platform until an entire 3D objectis created. For example, a polymer filament maybe extruded layer bylayer onto a build platform by a 3D printer. FDM (Fused DepositionModeling) is a 3D printing process were a thermoplastic is extruded toform the layers by which an object it produced. However, a commonproblem is that the 3D object does not adhere to the build platformduring printing and will pop up off the build platform which may causethe object to fail. This issue limits how large a part can bemanufactured using 3D printing techniques, such as in FDM, since theprinting of large objects (e.g., having a footprint of 6-7 squareinches) typically suffers from this problem.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood withreference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings arenot necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a three-dimensional printer system inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 2-4 are diagrams schematic illustrating an exemplary 3D printinghold build plate assembly in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart diagram of an exemplary 3D printing method inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a build plate forphysically adhering or holding a three-dimensional (3D) object to abuild surface and methods for mechanically anchoring the 3D object tothe build surface using printing or building materials. Unlike manyconventional adhesion techniques, embodiments of the present disclosureare not limited in use of filament and building materials that do nothave a high coefficient of thermal contraction, since the printed 3Dobject is not relying on adhesion to hold the object in place and isthus not limited by thermal contraction.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a 3D printer system 100 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The 3Dprinter system 100 includes a controller 105 and printing apparatus 110.Controller 105 is configured to prepare digital data that characterizesa 3D object for printing, and control the operation of the printingapparatus 110. The controller 105 may include, for example, a processor115, a memory unit 120, and print instructions 125. Data andinstructions maybe transferred between controller 105 and a CAD(computer-aided design) module (not shown), between controller 105 andprinting apparatus 110, and/or between controller 105 and other systemelements. Controller 105 may be suitably coupled and/or connected tovarious components of printing apparatus 110.

Controller 105 may utilize object modeling data (OMD) 130 representingan object to be printed. Controller 105 may convert such data toinstructions for the various units within 3D printer system 100 to printa 3D object. Controller 105 may be located inside printing apparatus 110or outside of printing apparatus 110. Controller 105 may be locatedoutside of printing system 100 and may communicate with printing system100, for example, over a wire and/or using wireless communications. Insome embodiments, controller 105 may include a CAD module/system orother suitable design system. In alternate embodiments, controller 105may be partially external to 3D printer system 100. For example, anexternal control or processing unit (e.g., a personal computer,workstation, computing platform, or other processing device) may providesome or all of the printing system control capability.

In some embodiments, print instructions 125, a print file, or othercollection of print data may be prepared and/or provided and/orprogrammed, for example, by the controller 105 or a computing platformconnected to 3D printer system 100. The print instructions 125 may beused to determine, for example, the order and configuration ofdeposition of building material via, for example, movement of andactivation and/or non-activation of one or more nozzles 147 of printinghead 145, according to the 3D object to be built. In accordance with thepresent disclosure, the print instructions 125 may further be configuredto determine positioning of anchoring points to be formed from depositedbuilding material and anchoring members around a perimeter of a 3Dobject. In one embodiment, the print instructions comprise, but are notlimited to, G-code toolpath instructions for the controller.

Printing apparatus 110 may include positioner(s) 150, building materialsupply unit(s) 155, printing head(s) 145, printing nozzle(s) 147, and abuild platform 160, among other components. Positioner 150 may controlthe movement of printing head 145, such as by servomotor(s) or steppedmotor(s).

Controller 105 may be implemented using any suitable combination ofhardware and/or software. In some embodiments, controller 105 mayinclude, for example, the processor 115, the memory unit 120, andsoftware or operating instructions, such as print instructions 125.Processor 115 may include conventional devices, such as a CentralProcessing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a “computer on a chip”, a microcontroller, etc. Memory unit 120 may include conventional devices suchas Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), or other storagedevices, and may include mass storage, such as a CD-ROM, SD/Micro SD,USB storage devices, or a hard disk. Controller 105 may be includedwithin, or may include, a computing device such as a personal computer,a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptop computer, a servercomputer, or workstation (and thus part or all of the functionality ofcontroller 105 may be external to 3D printer system 100). Controller 105may be of other configurations, and may include other suitablecomponents.

According to some embodiments, building material supply unit(s) 155 maysupply building materials to printing apparatus 110. Building materialsmay include any suitable kind of object building material, such as, forexample, photopolymers, plastics, metals, and may include modelingmaterial, support material and/or release material, or any alternativematerial types or combinations of material types. In some embodiments,the building materials used for construction of the 3D object are in aplastic filament form which is unwound from a coil supplying material toan extrusion nozzle 147, in which the extrusion is driven by a drivemechanism of the extruder drive system of the printing head 145. Thenozzle 147 is heated to melt the material and can be moved inhorizontal, forward/backward, and/or vertical directions by thepositioner mechanism 150. The object is produced by extruding solidmaterial through the drive mechanism where it is melted by the nozzle147 to form layers that harden immediately after extrusion. Thistechnology is referred as Fused deposition modeling (FDM) and is mostwidely used with two plastic filament material types: ABS (AcrylonitrileButadiene Styrene) polymer material and PLA (Polylactic acid) polymermaterial but many other materials are available ranging in propertiesfrom wood filed, conductive, flexible, etc. While ABS is typicallyprinted on printers having a heated build chamber, embodiments of thepresent disclosure can successfully print objects using ABS without aheated build chamber. Other print technologies such as SLA(Stereolithography) or ones that utilize an ultraviolet (UV) curableliquid as the print material are also available to be used withembodiments of the present disclosure.

As previously mentioned, a common problem in 3D printing is that the 3Dobject does not adhere to a build surface, e.g., build platform 160,during printing and pops up off the build platform 160 which may causethe object to fail to print. According to embodiments of the presentdisclosure, methods and structural components are provided to keep aprinted object firmly secured to the build surface, possibly minimizingor preventing deformation of a 3D object during and/or after printing,and/or providing other benefits.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2 which is a schematic illustration of anexemplary 3D printing hold build plate assembly 210 in accordance withan embodiment of the present disclosure and a 3D printer system 100. The3D printer system 100 includes a printing head 145 and nozzle 147 fromwhich building material is being deposited on a top surface of the holdbuild plate assembly 210 to form a 3D object 220. In one embodiment, theprinting head 145 includes various components, such as an extruder drivesystem for feeding/supplying building material (e.g., filament) to thenozzle 147. As represented in the figure, the 3D object 220 is anchoredin position by anchoring members 230 mechanically secured to the holdbuild plate assembly 210 via a mechanical hold, such as anchor holes 240featured on a top portion 212 of the hold build plate assembly 210 orraised surfaces (such as a peg, a post, lip, etc.) to which anchoringmembers 230 can be mechanically fastened or affixed. As such, the holdbuild plate assembly 210 contains a top plate 212 and bottom plate 214,as also shown in the alternative views of FIGS. 3-4. In one embodiment,the top plate 212 has a series of mechanical holds in the form of anchorholes 240 spaced throughout a top surface. In one embodiment, a top holeportion 241 of the hole 240 corresponds to, but is not limited to, adiameter-size of an orifice of the nozzle 147 having a circular shapeand a bottom hole portion 242 of the hole 240 comprises a chamfer (e.g.,countersunk hole) having a larger diameter-size than the top holeportion 241, as illustrated in the exploded views of FIG. 2 and FIG. 4.For example, in some embodiments, the top portion 241 of the anchor hole240 may be the same as or larger than the diameter-size of the orificeof the nozzle 147. Also, in alternative embodiments, the hole 240 maycomprise a counterbore shape or non-circular shapes, such as an oval,polygon, etc., among others.

As an illustrative example, at a beginning of a 3D print build, theextruder drive system of the printing head 145 extrudes filamentbuilding material into a top hole portion 241 of an anchor hole 240 inwhich the filament building material will expand out and anchor thebuilding material being deposited to the hold build plate assembly 210.Accordingly, the printing head 145 may move and branch off to depositadditional building material to establish a first layer of an object 220being printed and/or to establish an additional anchor point around aperimeter of the build object 220.

As the building material expands within a bottom hole portion 242 of theanchor hole 240, the building material is unable of being removed orpulled through the top hole portion 241 of the anchor hole 240 therebymechanically locking the build material and the 3D object 220 in place.After the 3D object 220 is printed, the anchor members 230 connectingthe building material in the anchor holes 240 with the base of the 3Dobject 220 can be snipped or cut free to allow for removal of the object220 from the hold build plate assembly 210. In various embodiments, theanchor holes 240 used to lock the object 220 in place may be directlyunder the object 220 or may be in positions around a perimeter of theobject and connected to the object 220 with an anchoring member 230(e.g., line of building material). As discussed, after the object 220has been removed, the remaining building material that was used foranchoring the object 220 can be pulled through the anchoring holes 240from underneath a top plate 212 of the hold build plate assembly 210.For example, the branches or members 230 from the anchor hole 240 to theprint object 220 are the same diameter as the top hole portion 241 ofthe anchor holes 240 and therefore can be pulled through the hole 240from the chamfer portion 242 of the hole 240. Accordingly, the holdbuild plate assembly 210 is designed and intended to be reused foradditional print/build jobs.

A mechanical hold provided by an exemplary embodiment of the hold buildplate assembly 210 is stronger than conventional methods of physical andthermal adhesions. Therefore, technology using an exemplary embodimentof the hold build plate assembly 210 can lead to printing larger buildobjects and also employing new building materials that are susceptibleto greater thermal contraction, such as ABS (Acrylonitrile ButadieneStyrene) material.

Although in some embodiments, the top plate 212 may be of a type ofmaterial or finish that provides adhesion for the build material, suchas metal, acrylic, or glass, among others, the hold build plate assembly210 does not rely on adhesion to hold a build object 220 in place.Correspondingly, a heated build chamber may also be used with the holdbuild plate assembly 210, in one embodiment. In such an embodiment, heatmay be applied during a beginning of a print job to help printing getstarted and then turned off after anchors have been positioned in therespective anchor holes 240 for the print object 220. In one embodiment,adhesion of the building material is not preferred, so embodiments of abottom plate 214 of a hold build plate assembly 210 utilize material(s)having low adhesion properties. Embodiments of the hold build plateassembly 210 may be smaller than a size of build platform on which it issupported or may be the same size. Further, in some embodiments, thebuild platform 160 may function as a bottom plate of the hold buildplate assembly 210 where a top plate 212 having anchoring holes ispositioned on top.

The flow chart of FIG. 5 shows the architecture, functionality, andoperation of a possible implementation of the print instructions orsoftware 125 (FIG. 1). In this regard, each block represents a module,segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executableinstructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). Itshould also be noted that in some alternative implementations, thefunctions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in FIG.5. For example, two blocks shown in succession in FIG. 5 may in fact beexecuted substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes beexecuted in the reverse order, depending upon the functionalityinvolved, as will be further clarified hereinbelow.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an exemplary anchoring method 500 for athree-dimensional print/build object 220 using mechanical holds in theform of anchor holes 240 is described. As noted, other forms ofmechanical holds may also be utilized in various embodiments, includingraised surfaces such as a peg or post. The anchoring method 500 of FIG.5 comprises determining (510) positioning of anchor holes 240 to be usedin holding or securing a 3D object 220 to a hold build plate assembly210. In some embodiments, a 3D scanner may be used to detect or findavailable anchor hole positions. In alternative embodiments, the printinstructions 125 may provide a layout of anchor holes 110 aspredetermined by specific homing/pattern on the hold build plateassembly 210 and/or use of a hall-effect probe. Further, in someembodiments, a 3D printer may be provided a data model of the hold buildplate assembly 210 or at least a top plate of the hold build plateassembly 210. Further, the controller 105 may determine positioning ofthe anchor holes 240 based on print data 125 or object model data 130for the object to be printed, including the prospective size and shapeof the object. After determining the desired positioning of the anchorholes 240, the controller 105 causes (520) an extruder drive system of aprinting head 145 to extrude building material in one or more of theanchor holes 240 of the hold build plate assembly 210 to form an anchorand connect (530) the anchor material in the anchor hole 240 to a bottomlayer of the 3D object 220 being printed to form an anchor member 230.

By utilizing a mechanical hold via the hold build plate assembly 210,objects 220 may be printed of a large size without concern for previousadhesion issues, such as thermal contraction, among others. Further,with techniques of the present disclosure, objects 220 can besuccessfully printed in different orientations, where these differentorientations would likely fail if adhesion is the primary method tosecure the objection to the build platform. Due to the hold build plateassembly 210 and related methods utilizing a mechanical hold to securethe print object 220, the object 220 is held in place with the strengthof the building material itself and does not require an adhesion withthe build surface. Additionally, there may be a reduction in failedprint jobs, since techniques of the present disclosure are more tolerantof issues that caused warping than previous methods.

Techniques of the present disclosure can also lead to a reduction inoperational costs, such as the reduction of heating element part(s)and/or related energy usage. Techniques of the present disclosure canalso take advantage of different printing materials, such as printfilaments having a high coefficient of thermal contraction.Correspondingly, the building material is easy to remove from the holdbuild assembly without the necessity of adhesion necessarily being usedto secure the building material to the hold build plate assembly 210 inone embodiment. This may also provide for reduced risk of injury relatedto removal of the building materials. Further, embodiments utilizing a3D printer system without a heated build chamber are safer for novicesor persons of adolescent age to interact with 3D printing system, sincethe risk of heat related injuries is removed.

Certain embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented inhardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. In oneembodiment, the print instructions 125 are implemented in software orfirmware that is stored in a memory and that is executed by a suitableinstruction execution system. If implemented in hardware, as in analternative embodiment, the print instructions can be implemented withany or a combination of the following technologies, which are all wellknown in the art: a discrete logic circuit(s) having logic gates forimplementing logic functions upon data signals, an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC) having appropriate combinational logic gates,a programmable gate array(s) (PGA), a field programmable gate array(FPGA), etc.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of thepresent disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations,merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of thedisclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to theabove-described embodiments without departing substantially from thespirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications andvariations are intended to be included herein within the scope of thisdisclosure and the following claims.

Therefore, at least the following is claimed:
 1. A hold build plateapparatus comprising: a first build plate adapted to support a printedthree-dimensional (3D) object during a 3D print job, wherein the firstbuild plate comprises a plurality of mechanical hold structures spacedthroughout the first build plate to which the printed three-dimensional(3D) object is anchored, the mechanical hold structures being positionedthroughout a perimeter of a top surface of the first build plate and amiddle interior portion of the top surface, wherein each of themechanical hold structures comprises an anchor hole extending from thetop surface of the first build plate to the bottom surface of the firstbuild plate; and a second build plate adapted to support the first buildplate during the 3D print job.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thesecond build plate is separate from the first build plate.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the first build plate comprises a metal,acrylic, or glass material.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein thesecond build plate comprises a material that is different from thematerial of the first build plate.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, whereinthe second build plate comprises a material that does not allow foradhesion of building materials in the 3D print job with the second buildplate.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second build platecomprises a build platform of a 3D printer performing the 3D print job.7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one peg on thetop surface of the first build plate for further anchoring the printed3D object.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least onestructure having a raised surface on the top surface of the first buildplate for further anchoring the printed 3D object.
 9. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the anchor hole comprises a top hole portion and abottom chamfer hole portion that is larger in size than the top holeportion.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein a size of the top holeportion corresponds to a size of a nozzle orifice of a 3D printerperforming the 3D print job.
 11. A method comprising: providing a holdbuild plate apparatus, the hold build plate apparatus comprising: afirst build plate adapted to support a printed object during athree-dimensional (3D) print job, wherein the first build platecomprises a plurality of anchor holes spaced throughout the first buildplate, wherein an individual anchor hole comprises a top hole portionand a bottom chamfer hole portion that is larger in size than the tophole portion, wherein the anchor holes are positioned throughout aperimeter of a top surface of the first build plate and a middleinterior portion of the top surface, wherein each of the anchor holesextends from the top surface of the first build plate to the bottomsurface of the first build plate; and a second build plate adapted tosupport the first build plate during the 3D print job: determiningpositioning of the anchor holes to be used in securing the printedobject to the first build plate; causing a 3D printer to extrudebuilding material in one or more of the anchor holes of the first buildplate at one or more determined positions; and connecting anchormaterial in the anchor hole to a bottom layer of the printed object toform an anchor member.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein a size of thetop hole portion corresponds to a size of a nozzle orifice of the 3Dprinter performing the 3D print job.
 13. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising determining the positioning of the anchor holes from a datamodel of the first build plate.
 14. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising forming a plurality of anchors around a perimeter of theprinted object, wherein individual anchors are connected to the printedobject via individual anchor members.
 15. The method of claim 11,further comprising printing the printed object using the buildingmaterial without a heated build chamber.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein the building material comprises Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrenepolymer material.
 17. The method of claim 11, wherein the buildingmaterial comprises Polylactic acid polymer material.
 18. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising: removing the printed object from the firstbuild plate by cutting the anchor member that is connected to theprinted object; and cleaning the first build plate after removal of theprinted object by pulling remaining anchor material through the anchorhole.
 19. The method of claim 11, wherein the first build platecomprises a metal, acrylic, or glass material.
 20. The method of claim11, wherein the second build plate comprises a material that isdifferent from the material of the first build plate.